A SUPERPOD of 250 dolphins were driven into a cove near Taiji on Friday - and after 52 were separated for sale at aquariums, the butchery began on the remainder.

JAPANESE fishermen covered up their bloody shame under giant tarpaulins yesterday.

Hidden from the cameras of conservationists, they butchered dolphins taken captive in record numbers in an annual hunt, turning the sea bright red.

The yearly capture and slaughter in a cove near the village of Taiji is coming under increasing attack.

And although Japanese authorities
defended the practice on the grounds of tradition and “dietary culture”, the fishermen were keen to conceal the horror of the killing.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Societ/AFP/Getty Images

The terrified animals huddle near boat

A
superpod of 250 terrified dolphins, the largest catch in recent years, was driven into a cove near Taiji on Friday. After 52 were separated from their mates and taken for sale to aquariums, the butchery began.

Campaigners
say at least two dolphins were already dead – one drowned in the nets and the other apparently killed herself by failing to surface after her albino calf was captured for sale.

Conservation group Sea Shepherd said about 40 dolphins were killed for their meat and the traumatised survivors of the hunt were driven away.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Societ/AFP/Getty Images

Fishermen choose the dolphins they intend to sell

They
added the 250 herded into the cove on Friday was the largest group they
have seen since they began monitoring the hunt, which was the subject of the Oscar-winning 2009 film The Cove.